Maybe I wasn't specific enough in my original post (gee, what a surprise, eh?!?), so let me try and make myself a little bit clearer. Overall, I am NOT having any problems at all with VUE 4.whatever it is (but it is fully updated)...these problems are occurring only with rocks!!! I can mix materials 'til I'm blue in the face (or until I get a blue material whichever comes first...hehe), I can build 75+Mb scenes, I can load a dozen Posers for cryin' out loud, this is only happening with rocks!! And it's not that it's that big of a deal, but rather it's just the annoyance of it that got me to sniveling in the first place '-)!! But, I do enjoy a good mystery, so I'm still all eyes and ears over here 'midst that salty Boston air '-)! ==steve